Uncooked Cookies

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)

You know it’s summer when you have to think twice about starting up the oven, dreading the excess heat it’s sure to pump out into the already sweltering kitchen. Although the temperature is still generally manageable here, it’s only a matter of time before legs start sticking to chairs and AC becomes mandatory. Anticipating this inevitable progression of the season, I’ve begun to prepare, finding treats and other eats that require little to no cooking, lest I risk making everyone in the house miserable and inspire an all-out cooking ban. Heck, I’d banish myself if I continued to roast and broil like usual when thermometers start pushing 100!

Reasonably, raw foods become a promising source of inspiration, as I naturally gravitate towards simpler and fresher foods as they become available. There’s a big difference, however, between a perfect peach plucked right from the tree and eaten straight away, and preparing elaborate raw desserts. Luckily, both can be very tasty, but the latter definitely requires a bit more patience.

Wasting no time in working on my arsenal of comfort foods, classic chocolate chip cookies sounded like the perfect place to start. One could very easily use cacao nibs for the chips, but craving a richer, more familiar chocolate chunk, the project begins by whipping up a glossy, luscious raw chocolate bar.

Lacking that satisfying “snap” but still smoothly melting over the tongue, no chocoholic would be able to turn this treat down. A fine confection by itself, but there was still cookie dough to make! Happily, I ended up with far more chocolate than could reasonably fit into my batch of cookies, so I considered the extra bar as a bonus for the cook. Just doing my job in cleaning up, right?

Based on a number of similar recipes, this concept is certainly nothing new, but the excessive amount of almond meal sitting in my pantry practically cried out to be included, so my main modifications were made in order to use up a good deal of it.

Sadly, these seemingly fool-proof uncooked sweets were a bit of a disappointment. So soft that I had to store them in the freezer to hold their shapes, the texture is mostly what left a lot to be desired. They won’t be replacing my baked CCC’s any time soon, and are more akin to a Larabar than any cookie I know, but the flavor is still quite enjoyable in its own right. The raw chocolate is still a highly successful imitation though, and will work nicely in a pinch when my stockpile of chocolate chips suddenly turns up missing.

Raw Chocolate Bars

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
1/4 Cup Light Agave Nectar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Cocoa Powder
Pinch Salt

Simply whisk together all of the ingredients until completely smooth- It may take a bit of patience, as the cocoa powder is prone to clumping. Once entirely lump-free, pour the liquid cocoa into 2 chocolate bar molds, or a lightly greased 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. Carefully stash the molds in your freezer until set, at least 2 hours. Though it will be stable at room temperature, this chocolate does have different melting properties than the traditional version, and may behave differently if baked. If it’s getting hot where you live as well, I would highly recommend storing these bars in at least in the fridge in a zip-top baggie, if not in the freezer for prolonged freshness.

Printable Recipe

37 thoughts on “Uncooked Cookies”

  1. Well ! I think you should have add some nuts to get them harder. Coconut oil isn’t enough harder to make by itself the job. The preparation could be used for frosting cupcakes for instance. Make a try, you won’t be disappointed ! I’m a chocoholic too, so I LOVE raw chocolate. What kind of are you using ?

    I agree with you. It’s time to uncook things as the weather is becoming warmer ! :D

  2. I am thrilled to see your version of raw chocolate bars! The results look far superior to the last batch I made… I will have to give yours a go.

    They really do look amazing.. thank you for sharing!

  3. I think these are probably far better than you give yourself credit for, although I like Julie’s suggestion of adding in some nuts. The chocolate bars sound like a very fun project.

  4. Raw chocolate chip cookie dough sounds amazing, and your raw chocolate bar is definitely something I have to try! Thanks for the recipe!

  8. Once a CCC craving hits, I’d be happy with just about anything! Especially when it gets too hot to function. They look delicious.

  9. You know if I made those on a hot day, I wouldn’t mind storing them in the fridge or freezer. Extra bonus for that.
    I’m definitely trying that raw chocolate. Just gotta find me some molds.

  10. Is the almond meal missing from your recipe? You mention it in the post but it isn’t included in the recipe.

    These look great and I want to try them. :)

  11. Another one of great recipes Hannah. SO simple and being chocoholic I am all over it already. And yeah nothing is better than being away from stove and enjoying great treat when thermostat is going up.

  15. i’ve never made raw chocolate, but that looks absolutely divine, very cooling and soothing and relaxing on a hot day. perfect for sitting out on the porch while reading and trying not to be eaten alive by mosquitoes with. :)
    i’ll have to try this. soon. and i mean veryyyy soon. you always post the best stuff!

  16. Nothing beats a freshly baked cookie but I’m with you on not turning on the oven once the summer heat hits. A frozen raw cookie would be perfect for those days! :-) and maybe with a little ice cream too.

  18. Oh. My. Heavens. You *made* that chocolate bar? I am speechless. Speechless. I’ve even forgiven you for taunting in-Winter-me with your talk of excessive heat :D

  19. Know what you mean about cooking in the summer heat. Unfortunately, I’m in Thailand and it’s ‘summer’ all year round. Wonder why I never cook, LOL.

    Beautiful blog, btw. Your photos are gorgeous!

  22. don’t be so hard on yourself I bet they are wonderful, and any recipe where you are oven free is a winner for me…and a cold cookie, oh yum

    sweetlife

  23. Is there nothing you can perfect? i wonder how these would pair up as a smore! I’m sure I’ve missed it – but the vegan marshmallow, have you played with that recipe too?

  26. I love no bake cookies! These look great! And I’m definitely going to be trying those raw chocolate bars, thanks for the ideas.

  27. Your chocolate bars look so professional! Do you think that you could make chips by dabbing drops of the chocolate on a Silpat, then freezing? (Not that I would actually do that– I really never use a pastry bag! But it’s a nice idea, no?) Cool idea!

  28. The chocolate is now on my list of things to make, Hannah… Looks soo good! Thank you!

    Now I just need to find a mold for chocolates.

  34. I saw this recipe for raw chocolate bars and got so excited I tried to make them immediately. Everything was going perfectly until I added the salt (hardly any at all), and then it completely separated and clumped. After a ton of mixing, I still couldn’t get the mixture to emulsify again. How do you avoid this?

    1. Unfortunately, it sounds like you simply over-processed the nuts and caused to fats to separate out. To prevent that, keep all of your ingredients as cold as possible because the heat speeds up the process, and make sure that you stop short or pureeing the nuts.

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